Crediton Vets 51 - Topsham Vets 5

THE Crediton Veterans welcomed Topsham to our home at Blagdon on Saturday, April 12 for a rugby masterclass.

The ground had been baked by the sun for a number of weeks which led to some fine running rugby by both teams, but also some hard ground for the old bones! Strong running from Chris Hooper, scything running from Sam Andrews and direct running from Ryan Doyle resulted in three opening tries. Topsham responded with a try after some sustained pressure. Phil Holmes rampaged through several players to score and Gareth Mason scored under the posts in another phase linking with the skilful, silky hips of our centre Bobby Mogford!

Stu Pickard was outstanding, Chris Baker was energetic, Richard Gray was industrious, Andy Poole was solid, Jamie Cheffings was magic. Pete Rich was the usual talisman. Score was 29-5 at half time. A few changes were made at half time which saw John Butts selected on the wing.

He had several incisive runs, but unfortunately after a tap tackle at full tilt he came down horribly onto the ground.

There were audible gasps from the touchline and some concern but mostly there was laughter.

He survived, but needed to retire with a hamstring injury, which seems to be the most common problem for us Vets.

Some new signings saw Andy Hawkes and Ash Wonnacott grace the paddock. They both gave their all and gave the crowd what they wanted - flowing running rugby.

Andrew Pennington had some great runs but unfortunately had to retire due to a hamstring injury after over stretching for an ambitious pass from Gareth Mason.

Chris Nicks had a very brief spell playing for the other side before injuring something. He made up for it in the bar. Eddie Yeandle, Bobby Mogford and Dave (or Pete!) Rich scored in the second half to add to their career tally. Being Veterans, we have all had plenty of chances to score tries over the years, but unbelievably Alex Gibbings had never crossed the line! This was the day for him.

He certainly looked the part in his shoulder pads which made him look beefy.

He was a man on a mission and scored wonderfully in the corner. Although there seemed to be very little wind at ground level, the poor kicker had to contend with vicious swirling tornadoes higher up.

He was courageous in his efforts and managed to pop the ball through the posts three times in during the match. Well done. Final score 51-5 to Crediton Vets. Ironically, the rain started to fall just as the game finished - it could have come earlier to soften the ground!

We thank Topsham for a great game and their fantastic sportsmanship. It has been a fantastic season, which has reinvigorated old friendships and formed new ones. We look forward to next year!

Gareth Mason